Manchester United may be chasing a tenth Barclays Premier League title in 16 seasons, but Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the days of domestic domination are all but over.

With Chelsea not in action until Monday, when they play Newcastle United at St James’ Park, United will move three points clear at the top of the table should they beat West Ham United, their bogey side, at Old Trafford this lunchtime.

Given their vastly superior goal difference, tantamount to an additional point, such a scenario would leave United in pole position going into their final league game of the season, away to Wigan Athletic a week tomorrow, but Ferguson cannot envisage a time where a team will again dominate as his did during the 1990s, even if they regain their crown this term.

“Domination is not a word that will be used again,” Ferguson said. “It’s very difficult and there are signs that it won’t get easier, with teams like Everton and Aston Villa getting better.”

Such thoughts are unlikely to concern Ferguson for the moment, however, as he eyes a Premier League and Champions League double for the second time in nine years. Despite being left emotionally drained by their efforts against Barcelona at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Ferguson feels that United’s victory in the Champions League semi-finals will provide the perfect boost before three games that will define the club’s season.

And while United will again be without Nemanja Vidic, the Serbia defender, who has yet to recover from concussion, and possibly Wayne Rooney, whom Ferguson is keen not to rush back for fear of aggravating a hip injury, the manager thinks that his squad is better positioned to handle the run-in than the one he had during the 1998-99 season, when the club won an historic treble.

“Tuesday’s match will have taken quite a bit out of the players, the emotion of it all, but winning that game has given us the biggest boost of all,” Ferguson said. “It has given everyone a lift. We needed it at the right time as they were all disappointed to lose to Chelsea [2-1 at Stamford Bridge last Saturday]. Maybe we won’t need a team talk against West Ham.

“In 1999, we did not have as big a squad - nothing like it – but we did not really have any major injuries. This season we have had injuries, but because of the size of the squad they have not been that noticeable.” Still, Ferguson will hope that Vidic has recovered in time for the Wigan game and that Rooney is fit, although the Scot believes that his team are firmly “in the driving seat”, even if he will not be taking West Ham lightly. United lost the title on the final day of the season in May 1995 after being held to a 1-1 draw at Upton Park and have lost their past three league games to Alan Curbishley’s team. Ferguson, though, remains optimistic. “It’s a big occasion and hopefully we can win the match and go a long way to winning the league,” he said. “We do ourselves our own favours now by winning our games, irrespective of what happens elsewhere.”

Although there are fears of trouble in Moscow on May 21, when United will face Chelsea in the Champions League final, Ferguson is unconcerned and, while he believes that the defeat by the West London club in the league last weekend could prove a motivating factor, he does not think that the bad blood surrounding the previous game will overshadow the final.

“They were all gutted after the Chelsea game,” he said. “It was an angry dressing-room and the players will remember that, but it will not affect the final. Composure is a very important part of the game. We set out every season to win a trophy. It is very difficult to win more than one, but hopefully we will win one.”

Domination may be the farthest thing from his mind, but somehow it is difficult to envisage Ferguson settling for anything less than two trophies this season.

- Ryan Giggs could surpass Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time appearance record for Manchester United in the Champions League final after doubts were cast over the number of games he actually played. Charlton is credited with making 759 appearances but the club are reviewing the statistics after suggestions that he was wrongly judged to have played in the FA Cup third-round win against Bolton Wanderers in January 1962. Charlton missed the match because of flu. Should Charlton’s record be amended to 758 games, Giggs will surpass it on May 21, provided that he also plays in United’s three remaining matches this season.